Lawrence Summers is going back to Harvard

It was unclear whether Summers, 55, volunteered to leave his post, or whether he was asked to go. Obama's entire economic team has drawn fire from congressional Republicans - and some Democrats - who accuse the White House of pursuing misguided economic policies that ran up record deficits without creating jobs or significantly improving the economy.

Many prominent economists have rebutted that view, arguing that Obama's $814 billion stimulus package prevented last year's recession from becoming the nation's first depression since the 1930s. Still, with unemployment at 9.6 percent and Democrats getting battered in the polls, even some administration loyalists say they have been surprised that it has taken so long for Obama to reshape his message on the economy and his top economic team.

"I will always be grateful that at a time of great peril for our country, a man of Larry's brilliance, experience and judgment was willing to answer the call and lead our economic team," Obama said in a statement. "We are on a better path thanks in no small measure to Larry's wise counsel."